The present invention relates to a performance enhancing assembly for skiers or snowboarders. More specifically, the present invention relates to an assembly which shifts the upper body weight of a skier or snowboarder from their legs to the skis or snowboard during crouching movement of their legs between a standing position and a fully crouched position.
Skiing has been a very popular sport for many years. The sport is enjoyed by virtually all age groups, and the ski season extends for most of the year for the majority of skiers and the entire year for the world traveler. Due to the popularity of skiing, a major world industry has developed for ski equipment. In recent years ski equipment has advanced significantly to enhance skiing performance and safety. The skier and manufacturers of ski equipment are constantly looking for innovations in the standard ski components which will enhance the performance of skiers and make the sport even more pleasurable. Additionally, a lot of attention has been given to the need for better conditioning of skiers to enhance their performances and extend their hours of enjoyable skiing over the course of a typical vacation.
Skiing generally and turning techniques particularly, place unusual strain on the skiers legs. Consequent fatigue is painful and decreases skiing time and the enjoyment of the sport. A substantial amount of the strain on the legs is caused by the upper body weight of the skier and the impact of the skis on the ski slope. While great strides have been made in designing good exercise routines to prepare the skier for the strain experienced on the skiers legs during the skiing, these exercise routines do not completely prepare even the most diligent exercisers for the real life conditions one would experience on a mountain trail. Because many skiers are unprepared for these real life conditions the result in fatigue increases the risk of injury and decreases the skiers performance and enjoyment.
However, even with proper conditioning and following many days of skiing under real conditions, a skiers legs are still subject to a tremendous amount of strain and pressure. Even the professional downhill racers experience this strain and fatigue and are in search of ways to enhance their skiing performance. Furthermore, the older or less conditioned the skier, the greater amount of strain on the legs.
Snowboarding has also become a very popular sport in recent years. Snowboarding is performed primarily by teenagers and the young and those who are inclined to jump and acrobatically navigate slopes or half pipes. Even these young snowboarders experience leg strain and fatigue. This fatigue of course limits their jumping and acrobatics. Accordingly, snowboarders as well as skiers have a need for an assembly which could enhance their performance by lessening the strain on their legs.
An excellent performance enhancement assembly is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,570 to Walter Dandy, III (a co-inventor of the present invention) issued Jul. 26, 1988. The Dandy assembly makes use of a rigid pole and spring assembly combination which transfers the weight of the upper body of a skier from the skiers legs to the skis during crouching movement of a skier. The Dandy assembly was a revolutionary breakthrough in this area and performs exceptionally well to reduce leg fatigue in skiers and enhance their performance. However, the preferred spring assembly in the Dandy apparatus in spite of its general effectiveness has certain potential disadvantages in practice. For example, the metal spring bands will not tolerate slack caused by sudden changes in positions of the skier's legs. The Dandy assembly of the '570 patent also has a limited lifetime since it is subject to breaking caused by quick recoil of the steel bands and the sharp edges on these spring bands could be hazardous. Furthermore, the Dandy '570 spring assembly is relatively heavy and bulky, relatively expensive to manufacture.